Pino Honored By The Maryland Jockey Club

LAUREL, MD. 11-10-12---The Maryland Jockey Club honored jockey Mario Pino, who moved into the top 10 on the all-time win list earlier this fall, with a winners’ circle presentation Saturday afternoon at Laurel Park.

“It’s a great honor and I am very grateful,” Pino said. “Maryland has been great to me, riding here for 30 years, seeing people come and go. I set a goal to be in the top 10 though before I ever won a race I remember reading the Racing Form about a rider who just reached 5,000 and thought how tough that had to be.”

On September 18 at Presque Isle Downs, Pino moved into sole possession of 10th place on the all-time win list with a victory aboard Incredibly Smart. The win was number 6,471 for Pino, one more than Hall of Famer Earlie Fires. Pino currently has visited the winners’ circle 6,484 times. His first winner was with Ed’s Desire on Jan. 16, 1979 at Bowie Race Course when he was 17 years old.

“I just tried to go to work every day and be as consistent as possible. When that happens, you get an opportunity to ride good horses and win races,” said Pino, who has eleven 200-win seasons and had at least 150 victories 28 times. “I love to ride and love to cross the finish line first.”

Consistency helped Pino establish a record for most victories on the Maryland circuit with 4,958 winners at Pimlico Race Course, Laurel Park, Bowie, Timonium and Marlboro. Though he rode in the shadows of champion riders Kent Desormeaux, Edgar Prado and Ramon Dominguez, the 51-year-old ranked in the top five of the state standings for 25 straight years from 1979 to 2003.

“When I first started here it was Bill Passmore (3,531 wins), Vince Bracciale (3,545) and Chuck Baltazar (2,912),” added Pino. “Riding with the likes of Prado and Desormeaux, I think I learned from them to become a better rider. I wanted to be leading rider but as time went on I realized these guys were Hall of Famers. To be second to them was no disgrace.”

Pino, who was inducted into the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame Thursday evening, became the 15th jockey in North America to win 6,000 races when he rode Pass Play, a horse trained by his brother Mike, to victory at Laurel Park on Nov. 7, 2007.

“I don’t get very emotional but I did at the Hall of Fame ceremony and when I won 6,000 almost five years ago to the day,” the 51-year-old said. “I want to thank all the trainers who let me ride their horses. They helped me raise my family here and to be able to sustain a career for this long by trusting me.”

Pino plans on taking the winter off but expects to ride next year at Presque Isle Downs, where he finished third in the 2012 standings with nearly 100 victories.

“I’m not going to retire but I may never ride again here at Laurel Park or at Pimlico,” said Pino, whose horses have earned more than $119 million, 34th in the all-time standings. “I am going to take the winter off and go back there to ride in May. I’m going to miss the post parade, the riders in the room and the fans here. These are the best fans in the world.”

Nine of the 10 riders ahead of Pino, including all-time leader Russell Baze (11,765 wins & counting), are members of Racing’s Hall of Fame. Other immortals to reach the milestone include Laffit Pincay (9,530), Bill Shoemaker (8,833), Pat Day (8,803) and Chris McCarron (7,141).

“I look at those names and to be in this select company is surreal,” Pino said. “These are the best jocks to ever ride. To be in the sentence is a dream come true. Maybe one day I’ll be considered.”

ADDITIONAL MARIO MILESTONES

• one of the principle players in the 2007 Triple Crown as the rider for Hard Spun with an exciting second place finish
in the Kentucky Derby and a respectable third in the Preakness Stakes. The duo completed a fantastic campaign
with a game second place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

• became the 18th rider in history to win 5,000 races and did it on his 41st birthday (September 8, 2002), riding
Outdone to victory on the grass at Delaware Park

• ranked in the top 10nationally in victories for four consecutive years beginning in 1999

• top rider in Maryland in 1999 (247 wins) and 2002 (227 victories)

• tied with Edgar Prado for second on Maryland Million Day with 16 victories

• earned the first G1 score with Wildcat Bettie B in the 2006 Prioress at Belmont Park

• finalist for the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award given to the jockey whose career and personal character
reflect positively on the sport in 2003, 2007 and 2008

About Laurel Park

Laurel Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida and is one of North America's top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world's largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; Xpressbet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is also a major producer of televised horse racing programming through its HRTV cable and satellite network and is North America's premier supplier of virtual online horse racing games, as well as a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.

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